Chapter 8 - The Queen’s Counterattack
While Evan wept in federal custody, his mother was waging a completely different kind of war. Victoria Bellacourt, despite being locked behind bars at the women's correctional holding facility, had spent her entire life buying influence, bribing officials, and bending the rules to fit her aristocratic lifestyle.
Seated in the maximum-security visitation booth, Victoria glared through the thick reinforced glass at her high-priced defense attorney—one of the few who hadn't abandoned her yet, retained through a hidden emergency trust fund tucked away in Switzerland.
“I don't care what the federal prosecutor says, find a legal loophole!” Victoria hissed through the intercom phone, her voice sharp as broken glass. “That little accountant cannot legally destroy generations of Bellacourt legacy! File an injunction! Sue the state attorney general’s office for wrongful arrest!”
“Mrs. Bellacourt, you simply don't understand,” the tired attorney sighed, rubbing his temples in utter exhaustion. “The federal indictment is completely airtight. Your son’s digital signatures are on every single ledger, and federal investigators have seized eighty-two million dollars in assets. Furthermore, Claire Bellacourt—your daughter-in-law—was the lead state forensic auditor who authorized the entire sting operation.”
Victoria’s eyes narrowed into venomous slits. The mere mention of my name sent a surge of pure, unadulterated fury through her veins.
“That manipulative little parasite,” Victoria snarled, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the intercom phone. “She wormed her way into our family under a false identity, pretending to be a helpless, quiet nobody, while all along she was plotting to destroy us.”
“Actually, Mrs. Bellacourt, she never lied about her government job; your son simply never bothered to ask or pay attention,” the attorney corrected bluntly, earning a murderous glare from the matriarch.
“Listen to me very carefully,” Victoria whispered, leaning forward so close to the glass her breath fogged the surface. “Find out where she is hiding. Use whatever contacts we have left in the local police department. I want her isolated, I want her discredited, and most importantly... I want full legal custody of that newborn child born out of her wretched womb.”
The attorney blinked in sheer disbelief. “Mrs. Bellacourt, you are facing thirty years in a federal penitentiary for wire fraud and racketeering. You are in no position to sue for child custody.”
“That child carries Bellacourt blood!” Victoria screamed, slamming her fist against the glass partition so hard the guards immediately stepped forward with batons raised. “She will not inherit nothing! If I go down, I will take everything away from that ungrateful bitch, starting with her baby!”
Back at the federal safe house, unaware of Victoria’s unhinged plot from behind bars, I was reviewing the final asset forfeiture documents with Mara Voss when my secure laptop suddenly flashed an amber security alert.
“Mara,” I said, frowning as I stared at the screen. “Someone just attempted to access my sealed personal records through the municipal court database using a compromised judge's credentials.”
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Mara rushed over to my shoulder, her eyes scanning the digital logs. Her face instantly hardened into a mask of pure tactical focus.
“It’s coming from inside the county judicial system,” Mara said grimly, drawing her service weapon. “Victoria’s network is still active. They’re coming after you, Claire.”
